11 hrs ago
2 min read
After a 15-month layoff, British heavyweight hopeful David Adeleye will make his Matchroom promotional debut on November 14.
His trainer Adam Booth confirmed the former British champion will feature as part of the Diego Pacheco-Darius Fulghum show on U.S. shores next month, during a wide-ranging conversation with The Ring's Louis Hart.
The Ring's No. 6 super middleweight Pacheco (26-0, 19 KOs) will headline the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California against Fulghum (15-1-1, 13 KOs).
The card marks the latest installment of TNT Sports and DAZN's "The Fight," the new monthly live boxing series, broadcast co-exclusively in the U.S. on TNT, truTV and DAZN worldwide.
Published on Sunday, Booth insisted his charge's return wouldn't be a straightforward tune-up fight either but stopped short of naming the heavyweight in question.
"It's not one of those to necessarily shake off the cobwebs, a local fighter with a decent record ... apparently a ticket seller so certainly not coming to lay down if he's selling loads of tickets in his hometown."
Adeleye (14-2, 13 KOs) was last in action against Filip Hrgovic on the Moses Itauma-Dillian Whyte undercard last August. Despite suffering a knockdown en route to a wide defeat on the scorecards, the 29-year-old produced a spirited effort over 10 rounds and gave the Croatian a scare in round eight of their 10-round contest in Saudi Arabia.
Two fights and 12 months later, Hrgovic (21-1, 16 KOs) was crowned IBF world champion with a come-from-behind upset stoppage win over Moses Itauma on August 29.
While it was clear in their fight Adeleye had some defensive deficiencies to iron out, he's an athletic heavyweight and the new titleholder praised him as the hardest puncher he's faced. Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren lamented the Londoner's inability to maintain his jab and under Booth, there's renewed optimism about his future.
After all, he's in a rebuilding phase with a highly-regarded trainer who maximized David Haye's strengths and masked his flaws during a successful world championship career across two weight divisions. He likened Adeleye to Haye before their first outing together, a blistering first-round knockout of Solomon Dacres in December 2024.
"David needs activity, promoting and progression," Booth continued.
"I'm excited with his new relationship with Eddie [Hearn]; their personalities are well suited, let's see where we get with him because he absolutely has the potential to get to the top of the tree. We're now, on a daily basis, grinding away working on the things that need improving."
Matchroom announced the signing of Adeleye, who began his professional career with British rival promotional company Queensberry in 2019 and had fielded offers after becoming a free agent earlier this year.
When asked whether a future matchup with Andy Ruiz made sense, Booth suggested Damian Knyba (18-1, 11 KOs) would be a more interesting proposition after the Pole's upset win over the former world champion last month.
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